(February 10, 1903-October 30, 1986)
Born in The Bronx, New York
Went by the pseudonym Lewis Allan
Poet, teacher and songwriter
Wrote the songs 'Strange Fruit' (sung by Billie Holiday), 'The House I Live In' (sung by Frank Sinatra) and 'Apples, Peaches and Cherries' (sung by Peggy Lee)
Acted in the film 1958 film 'Sierra Baron'
Died in Longmeadow, MA of a combination of Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia at age 83

Why he might be annoying

He wrote as Lewis Allan in memory of his two stillborn children (and because it sounded less Jewish).
He was a closet Communist.
When RKO Radio Pictures released a 10 minute film version of 'The House I Live In,' he was livid that the line 'my neighbors who are black and white' was omitted.
Alzheimer's disease robbed him of the memory of his accomplishments, and he died in a Jewish nursing home.

Why he might not be annoying

He earned a Bachelor's degree at City College of New York, a Masters at Harvard University, and became an English literature teacher at a Bronx high school.
He wrote Holiday's
signature song 'Strange Fruit' in 1937 after seeing a 1930 photo of two lynched Indiana black men.
While controversial at the time, the powerful song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1978 and made the 2001 R.I.A.A. list of 'Songs of the Century.'
Even with the removed lyric, the movie version of 'The House I Live In,' made as a statement against anti-Semitism and racial prejudice after World War II, received an Honorary Academy Award and a special Golden Globe award in 1946.
The movie was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant' (2007).
After Ethel & Julius Rosenberg were executed by the state of New York in 1953, he and his wife adopted their two sons.

In 2018, Out of 119 Votes: 61.34% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 39 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 30 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 110 Votes: 53.64% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 49 Votes: 65.31% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 24 Votes: 62.50% Annoying